60,000 Cases 346 Days After First Confirmed Patient... Extension or Strengthening of Social Distancing?

Over 50,000 Surpassed, 10,000 More in Ten Days
374 Deaths This Month Alone
Government to Announce New Guidelines on 3rd Next Month
Variant Virus Spread Remains a Variable

The scene of the COVID-19 cluster infection outbreak at Seoul Eastern Detention Center. The situation is worsening as a large number of confirmed cases have emerged among inmates transferred from the Eastern Detention Center to other correctional facilities. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Kim Heung-soon] On the 31st, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea surpassed 60,000. It has been 346 days since the first domestic case was reported on January 20. Additional cases continue to emerge in places prone to large-scale outbreaks once the virus spreads, such as nursing facilities and correctional institutions, and the possibility that the variant virus reported in the UK has spread within the domestic community cannot be ruled out.

Although strict social distancing measures have reduced movement and contact, new cases have not decreased, causing increasing concern for health authorities. It has been decided to determine whether to adjust the current Level 2.5 distancing and the special year-end and New Year measures around January 3, when these measures are scheduled to end.

Double-digit daily deaths... 374 deaths this month

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight today, 967 new confirmed cases were recorded. Of these, 940 were domestic community infections and 27 were imported cases. The cumulative domestic confirmed cases reached 60,740, increasing by 10,000 in ten days after surpassing 50,000 on the 21st. Previously, it took 20 days to increase by 10,000 after surpassing 30,000 on the 20th of last month, and 11 days to go from 40,000 to 50,000.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters' quarantine team, said, "The third wave is lasting longer than expected," adding, "Looking at foreign situations, the trend is not easily declining but continuing to increase. In South Korea, the increase is being suppressed, but there is no clear decrease."

On the afternoon of the 29th, a COVID-19 confirmed patient is being transferred by ambulance to a designated central hospital from a nursing hospital in Guro-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The overall increase in patient numbers has led to more critically ill patients, and outbreaks in facilities densely populated by vulnerable groups such as nursing hospitals have caused casualties to snowball. Including the 21 deaths reported yesterday, 374 people have died this month alone, accounting for 42% of the 900 cumulative deaths in the country. Some patients have died while waiting at home due to lack of hospital beds or after being cohort-isolated in nursing hospitals without receiving proper treatment. In some facilities where cluster infections spread, patients were confirmed positive only after death.

Weekend distancing readjustment
Variant virus and other variables

The government will announce new social distancing guidelines aligned with the end of the year-end and New Year enhanced quarantine special measures on January 3 next year. It must decide how to adjust the current standards of Level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and Level 2 in non-metropolitan areas after this period. Considering the daily confirmed case trends and medical response capacity, either extending Level 2.5 for a certain period in the metropolitan area or upgrading to Level 3 must be chosen.

The daily confirmed case trend already meets the criteria for Level 3 escalation. Based on domestic cases, the recent one-week average exceeds 800 to 1,000 cases. From the 25th to today, the average number of domestic confirmed cases was 1,007.

Another criterion the government is carefully monitoring is the proportion of new confirmed cases aged 60 and over and the capacity of hospital beds for severe patients. The proportion of new daily confirmed cases aged 60 and above dropped to around 30% after 30.5% on the 24th but rose to 34.8% yesterday. This is due to cluster infections in high-risk facilities such as nursing hospitals and nursing homes.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Health authorities are focusing on preventing further spread by conducting over 200,000 preemptive diagnostic tests targeting vulnerable areas such as nursing hospitals, facilities, and psychiatric hospitals. As of the 29th, there are 217 available intensive care beds nationwide and 120 in the metropolitan area, providing some leeway. The number of patients who tested positive in the metropolitan area and waited more than one day due to bed shortages decreased from 248 on the 22nd to 30 as of yesterday. Based on these conditions alone, extending Level 2.5 is likely.

However, the recent confirmation of five cases infected with the UK variant virus in South Korea is a variable. Among these confirmed cases, the family of an elderly man in his 80s from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, who was confirmed positive posthumously, is also being investigated for variant virus infection. It is understood that one family member recently engaged in external activities such as visiting local hospitals, hair salons, and supermarkets. If variant virus infection is confirmed, community transmission cannot be ruled out. Results for additional tests are expected early next week.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.